In this article, Darcy Fohrman, Principal of Darcie Fohrman Associates, summarizes the conversation at an AAM session, in which three young exhibition professionals (the "Young Bloods") and three experienced exhibition professionals (the "Silverbacks") debated issues related to planning and designing interpretive exhibitions. This article also includes post-session thoughts from the presenters.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Darcie Fohrman
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, Jeff Hayward, Director of People, Places & Design Research, defines the role of museum evaluators by explaining what they do, who they do it for and why, the skills they have, and how they see themselves in relation to other exhibit-related professionals. With input from colleagues, Hayward also describes issues associated with the profession, like the question of credentialing and the role of evaluators in the exhibit planning process.
In this article, Ian Kerrigan, Assistant Director of Exhibition Development at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, articulates the importance of the 9/11 Memorial Museum being located at the World Trade Center site. Kerrigan goes on to explain how the museum is also serving as a archaeological site, how artifacts will play a pivotal role in the Museum's public spaces, and how the Museum's primary artifact is the site in and of itself. Kerrigan also describes how media is an integral element of the exhibition space that reflect the media age of era and allow visitors to share and
In this article, Ted Ansbacher, museum consultant with Science Services, presents a model for experience-based learning, based on the ideas of John Dewey. Ansbacher also presents an interpretation of "meaning making" and implications for exhibit development based on this model.
In this article, Michael Spock, a Research Fellow at the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and consultant, presents a collection of stories about museums. These anecdotes shed light on what it takes to create really meaningful exhibits and why efforts so often come up short.
In this article, John Russick, Curator at the Chicago Historical Society, shares his adventurous experience participating in an archeological dig at a remote site in central Turkey. The experience taught Russick four important lessons related to exhibit development and foreign travel.
In this article, Minda Borun, Director of Research and Evaluation at The Franklin Institute Science Museum, discusses how and why exhibit designers need to design experiences for multi-age groups (families) not individual users. Borun sites exemplars from the field who've successfully created immersive experiences for multi-generational visitors.
In this article, Alan Jacobson, President of ex;it and BAJdesign, shares the lessons he learned in Rwanda, while building a memorial to the 1994 Genocide, in which 1,000,000 people died in 100 days. Jacobson recounts his personal journey in Rwanda as well as how this experience reshaped his core design principles.
In this article, Janet Petitpas, assistant director at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and President of the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative, discusses how the group of North American children's museums share and manage traveling exhibits between the United States and Canada. Petitpas addresses the challenges associated with international exhibitions and offers suggestions based on her experiences.
This article highlights four controversial exhibits from various institutions who, in the end, used controversy to their advantage. The authors include Kimberly Louagie, Curator of Exhibits at the Outagamie County Historical Society in Appleton, Wisconsin, Saudia Muwwakkil, Public Information Officer at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Diane Perlov, Senior Vice President for Exhibits at the California Science Center, and John Russick, Curator at the Chicago Historical Society.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Kimberly LouagieSaudia MuwwakkilDiane PerlovJohn Russick
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, Cliff Abrams, principal of Abrams Associates Design, LLC, shares his frustrating experience with the RFP process. Abrams argues for much simpler, more honest approach.
In this article, Mikko Myllykoski, Experience Director at Heureka, The Finnish Science Centre, describes the exhibit design and approach of a new exhibition gallery, Heureka Classics, which honors the museum's 20th anniversary. The idea behind the exhibition was to recycle some of the museum's best exhibits within a simplistic Nordic design featuring electronic labels.